Rules for Life

Introduction: In today's class we will talk about the topic of rules, obligations, prohibitions, and permissions. Work with your partners to complete the tasks below. 

Warm Up: Pronunciation Practice

Use the strategy you just learned about how to pronounce the "ed" endings. If the final sound vibrates, you pronounce it like a /d/. If the final sound doesn't vibrate, you pronounce it like a /t/. If the final sound of the word is a /t/ or /d/ sound, you need to add the sound /id/. Click your group link and get started!

• Group 1: CLICK HERE
• Group 2: CLICK HERE
• Group 3: CLICK HERE
• Group 4: CLICK HERE
• Group 5: CLICK HERE

Tasks 1: Discussion

Discuss the following questions with your partners. You have exactly 7 minutes. So be sure to click play on the video to keep track of time and ensure that all group members can contribute their ideas.

• What rules do you try to live by? What are some behaviors that you see in other people that you try not to do?
• What rules did you have in your house when you were a child?
• How did the rules change when you became a teenager? Were the rules always the same for you and your brothers and sisters?
• What are some rules, obligations, and prohibitions in your job?

Task 2: Quick Listening

Click play on the video to listen to three conversations. For each conversation, answer the questions below. You do not have to write.

• What is the problem?
• What is the advice?
• Do you agree or disagree with it? Give YOUR advice if it is different.

Task 3: Modern Morals

Click on your group link below. Read through the presentation and write advice for each problem. When you finish, write your own unique problems. All instructions are in the link.

• Group 1: CLICK HERE
• Group 2: CLICK HERE
• Group 3: CLICK HERE
• Group 4: CLICK HERE
• Group 5: CLICK HERE

Task 4: Roleplay

Read one of the scenarios below. Then click play on the video timer and two students have a conversation for one minute to resolve the situation. You can give advice and also remind the person about their obligations. When the time is over, you can read another scenario, click play on the video timer, and act in another scene. 

Scenario 1: Social Media

Jessica is a customer service representative at SuperMart, a clothing store. She is friends with most of her coworkers on Facebook. Her boss recently looked at her Facebook profile and noticed that many of her posts, likes, and messages happen during working hours. Jessica thinks there’s nothing wrong with checking her FB on her phone as long as she gets her work done. Her manager wants to speak with her about this.

Scenario 2: Student Complaints

Jeff is an economics professor at a private university. Recently, his supervisor has received many complaints from Jeff’s students about the quality of his classes. Students say he is not prepared for class. They say he spends a lot of time talking about politics and his personal opinion about topics in the news instead of talking about content related to the course. They also say that his exams contain information that they never saw in class. Jeff’s supervisor wants to have a meeting with him to talk about the situation.

Scenario 3: Punctuality

Lindsey works as a cashier (cajera) at the National Bank downtown. She is a hard worker and is very meticulous with her job. However, she has had many problems with punctuality recently. She frequently arrives 5 or 10 minutes late and she always has an excuse. Her manager has already spoken with her about this problem and she promised she would make and effort to arrive on tie. However, the problem has continued and she was 25 minutes late for work this morning. Her manager called her into the office for a meeting. 

Scenario 4: Computer Use

John is an employee at DataTech where he is in charge of customer accounts. The IT department has received complaints from many employees about the slow WIFI recently so they started investigating. They discovered that John frequently uses the WIFI to stream music, movies, and podcasts on his company laptop during working hours. His supervisor wants to have a meeting with him to discuss the topic.